Maryland Zoo celebrates new lion cubs, mourns mom's death

Badu, 2 other cubs die during birth complications

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is celebrating the birth of two lion cubs but at the same time mourning the loss of two of their siblings and their mother, who died from birth complications.

The zoo said its young lioness, Badu, gave birth to the two cubs Thursday night in a special den built in an off-exhibit area, but the next morning, Badu was exhibiting signs of birth complications, so vets did a special surgery.

"Two additional cubs had to be removed surgically, neither of which survived," said Dr. Ellen Bronson, the senior veterinarian at the zoo.

Officials said Badu had difficulty after the surgery taking care of the cubs, so zoo staff took over feeding them. Badu continued to have complications and died Monday afternoon.

"While we are deeply saddened by the loss of this spirited cat, we now must turn our attention to caring for her young cubs. They are only 6 days old and are just beginning to open their eyes," Bronson said.

"This is a tremendous loss for the zoo. Badu was a young cat, wonderful to watch on exhibit, and a good mate to Hassan," said Don Hutchinson, the president and CEO of the zoo. "But despite losing Badu, we should also remember that she left behind two new additions to our zoo family."

The cubs, a boy and girl, appear healthy and will be cared for in an area outside of the exhibit. They're the first lion cubs born at the zoo.

Hassan, the father to the cubs, and Cuma, the zoo’s other adult lion, will continue to be on exhibit while they are being raised in the den.

Lions are listed as vulnerable in the wild because their population has declined significantly over the past 50 years, with only an estimated 32,000 lions remaining in the wild, down from more than 100,000.

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